Kingston Town (song)

Summarize Timeline Fact Check

English reggae band UB40 covered "Kingston Town" in 1989 and released it as a single in March 1990. It became the group's sixth top-five hit on the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number four for three weeks in April 1990. Throughout the rest of 1990, the song charted in a number of countries, topping the Dutch Top 40 for two weeks in May and the French Singles Chart for three weeks in October and November.

In Australia, the song did not reach the top 100 on the ARIA Singles Chart during its original release. In 1991, after a re-release of "Here I Am (Come and Take Me)" reached number three, "Kingston Town" was re-issued and peaked at number 17 on the ARIA Singles Chart. In the United States, the song was serviced to rhythmic contemporary radio on 17 October 1995,^[3] in tandem with The Best of UB40 – Volume Two, but it failed to chart.

Critical reception

David Giles of Music Week described "Kingston Town" as a "pleasant but perfunctory cover" less commercial than UB40's previous two singles, and deemed it was likely not to be a hit.^[4]

Track listings

7-inch single^[5]

A. "Kingston Town"

B. "Lickwood"

12-inch single^[6]

A1. "Kingston Town" (extended mix)

B1. "Lickwood"

B2. "Kingston Town" (7-inch version)

CD single^[7]

1. "Kingston Town" (7-inch version)
2. "Lickwood"
3. "Kingston Town" (extended mix)

US CD and cassette single^[8][9]

1. "Kingston Town" – 3:46
2. "Superstition" – 5:18

Australian CD single (1991)^[10]

1. "Kingston Town" – 3:49
2. "Breakfast in Bed" – 3:15
3. "If It Happens Again" – 3:42
4. "Sing Our Own Song" – 4:05

Charts

More information Chart (1990), Peak position ...

Weekly charts Chart (1990) Peak position Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[11] 5 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[12] 4 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[13] 6 France (SNEP)[14] 1 Ireland (IRMA)[15] 8 Luxembourg (Radio Luxembourg)[16] 5 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[17] 1 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[18] 2 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[19] 17 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[20] 14 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[21] 8 UK Singles (OCC)[22] 4 West Germany (GfK)[23] 5 Chart (1992) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[24] 17

Year-end charts Chart (1990) Position Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[25] 11 Belgium (Ultratop)[26] 22 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[27] 6 Europe (European Airplay Top 50)[28] 1 Europe (European Hit Radio)[28] 1 Germany (Media Control)[29] 8 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[30] 12 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[31] 11 Sweden (Topplistan)[32] 62 UK Singles (OCC)[33] 35

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Certifications and sales

More information Region, Certification ...

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[34]	Gold	35,000^
France (SNEP)[35]	Gold	400,000*
Germany (BVMI)[36]	Gold	250,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[37]	3× Platinum	90,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[38]	Platinum	600,000‡
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

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Release history

More information Region, Date ...

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label(s)	Ref.
United Kingdom	19 March 1990	—N/a	DEP International Virgin	[citation needed]
Australia	21 May 1990	7-inch vinyl 12-inch vinyl cassette		[39]
Australia (re-release)	28 October 1991	CD cassette	Virgin	[40]

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